NEWS
A2/Liberty Champion
Summer elections
April 30, 2013
Relay for Life
Democrat primary election is scheduled for June 11 Sophia Hahn shahn3@liberty.edu
Virginia’s primary elections are scheduled to take place May 7 for the Republicans and June 11 for the Democrats. During this time, candidates will be nominated for the November general election. Liberty alumnus Zach Martin is running in the Bedford County Republican primary elections for the 19th District House of Delegates. The seat opened when Lacey Putney retired this spring. “There is no Democrat who has declared to run,” a Republican spokesperson said. According to the City of Lynchburg’s website, the election is for both Republican and Democratic candidates. The Democrats will be voting on nominees for Governor, Lieutenant General and Attorney General while the Republicans will be electing new House of Delegates members. “This year, the Republicans decided to hold a convention instead of a primary, so voters will not take part in nominating candidates like they will for the Democratic Party,” a Voters’ Registration employee said. The only person running for the Democratic nomination in the gubernatorial election is Terry McAuliffe. His opponent from the Republican Party is Ken Cuccinelli. Because both of these candidates were the only ones to qualify for this position, no primary election will be necessary, according to the City of Lynchburg’s website. The two Democrats up for nomination for Lieutenant General are Ralph Northam and Aneesh Chopra. The Lieutenant General holds a very important position in the Virginia Senate. “With an even split between Democrats and Republicans in the Virginia Senate, the Lieutenant Governor will be tasked with casting the tie-breaking vote on key legislation impacting the Commonwealth,” according to Northam’s official site. The Democrats have also nominated two candidates for Attorney General: Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring. It is important for people to get involved in voting for local politicians, as voting is a freedom that many countries do not have. For more information on the election, visit Lynchburg’s official website, Lynchburgva. gov. HAHN is the news editor.
Champion corrections Battle of the Bands photos were taken by Jake Mitchell. Track long jump photo of Kyle Wheeler was taken by Ruth Bibby. J.J. Cole worked at LGH from 19841989 and then worked with the City of Lynchburg with court-involved youth for 12 years before coming to Liberty. She currently does not guide young girls through the adoption process. After leaving the city to homeshool, she was offered her teaching position. Family Life Services should have been capitalized.
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
WALK — Professor Terry Metzger and Liberty Senior Photographer Les Schofer take part in the survivors walk at Relay for Life, which was held at Liberty, Friday, April 26.
Wheeler defies the odds After years of people telling her she never could, Kara will graduate this May Emily Webster ewebster@liberty.edu
Kara Wheeler, an early childhood development major, will be graduating from Liberty University May 2013, defying the odds and the predictions of countless naysayers who told her that this feat would not be possible. Born 14 weeks early and weighing a mere 1 pound, 15 ounces, Kara was diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy at age four. The daughter of Professor of Evangelism David Wheeler, Kara said that whenever someone told her that she would not be able to graduate high school or go to college, she knew that she would find a way to prove them wrong. Before Kara arrived at Liberty, David said that he and his wife did not know what to expect for their daughter’s time in college. “We always taught our kids to pursue excellence, not perfection,” David said. “We just wanted Kara to apply herself and do the best she could. She is a very social person, and so we knew she needed to live on campus and have friends. We wanted her to enjoy the college life and … for God to be able to work in her and show her what it is he wanted her to do.” Kara wanted to spend her life working with preschoolers at a day care, but after going on a missions trip to the Philippines, she knew that God was changing her heart. “Pretty much throughout the mission’s trip, the Lord (said), ‘Kara, this is your calling. You cannot run away from your calling anymore,’” Kara said, remembering how God had spoken to her. “So I feel like God has called me into the missions field, and in his timing, hopefully after Christmas, I’ll be going back to the Philippines where
Photo Provided
GRADUATION — Kara Wheeler’s father, David, supported her throughout her struggles. I was and (will be) doing an internship. Throughout the internship, I’ll hopefully be working with the local school there and develop special needs programs.” Counting down until graduation, Kara said that the hardest part about college has been the work load, and her favorite part has been the friendships that she has made. “The people that I’ve met here — I know that we’ll be friends for life,” Kara said. “And I know that wherever the Lord has me, he will be by my side.” Relationships she has formed not only include her fellow students, but also the professors that have helped her along the way. She said that her Family and Consumer Science (FACS) classes have been her favorite classes, because she has learned essential information for the future. “To have professors here that will help me with my learning disability and to tell me that they believe in me and that I can do it, it’s been really encouraging, because, through the years, many people told me and my parents that I would never graduate and I would never go to college,” Kara said. According to Kara, hav-
LIBERTY CHAMPION 1971 UNIVERSITY BLVD, LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24502
Tabitha Cassidy EDITOR IN CHIEF
Greg Leasure EDITOR IN CHIEF
administration
Deborah Huff FACULTY ADVISOR
Omar Adams ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Ashley McAlpin GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Shelanne Jennings GRADUATE ASSISTANT
content
Melanie Oelrich NEWS EDITOR
Sophia Hahn NEWS EDITOR
Tyler Eacho ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Mark Tait ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Andrew Woolfolk
Derrick Battle SPORTS EDITOR
Tom Foote ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
Greg Leasure
OPINION EDITOR
Kyle Harvey SPORTS EDITOR
Emily Brown COPY EDITOR
Emily Webster COPY EDITOR
WEBSTER is a copy editor.
The Champion encourages community members to submit letters to the editor on any subject. Letters should not exceed 400 words and must be typed and signed. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Letters and columns that appear are the opinion of the author solely, not the Champion editorial board or Liberty University.
Courtney Russo ASST. PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
OPINION EDITOR
Gabriella Fuller
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Sara Warrender
COPY EDITOR
have here. She loves it. She pushes it, you know, to the degree of stretching herself and doing all those things. She’s been relational. She’s grown in amazing ways. She could easily be a walking testimonial of what Liberty’s all about.” Attributing where she is today to her family, Kara said that she has overcome challenges by knowing that her family was by her side every step of the way. She said that without them, especially her mother, she would not have been able to accomplish everything she has. She also said that reading her Bible and working on her relationship with God on a daily basis has gotten her through the hardest times. “Just have those people in your life, especially your family, to support you and just help you through it,” Kara said. “It’s the most encouraging, especially, to have that relationship with Christ. To be like, ‘Alright God, today is hard, but with you, nothing is impossible, with you, everything is possible.’”
All material submitted becomes property of the Champion. The Champion reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any letter received—according to the Champion stylebook, taste and the Liberty University mission statement.
Ruth Bibby
design
Tess Curtis
POLICIES & INFO
photography
FEATURE EDITOR
FEATURE EDITOR
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
ing her dad as a professor at Liberty has been “amazing.” She said that she finds him a couple times throughout the week to catch up and talk. “I love having my dad as a professor,” Kara said. “I love having students tell me how great he is and how impactful he is with his teaching, because to be a professor here is his passion, and his passion is to make a difference in his students’ lives.” David said that he cannot express how proud he is of his daughter and how she is letting God use her. “She’ll come in between classes … and give me a hug,” David said. “It means the world to me to watch her and to watch the kind of young woman she’s become (and) how God’s used her to encourage and influence others.” Knowing that his daughter has been able to gain knowledge from the professors and pastors that she has listened to throughout her years at Liberty, David said that he has watched how she has grown and how she encourages and influences those around her. “I think Kara really represents what it means to be a champion for Christ,” David said. “She takes advantage of the things they
Elliot Mosher Abigail Bock GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Breann Black GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jomer Bunque WEB DESIGNER
Send letters to: Liberty Champion Liberty University, Box 2000, Lynchburg, VA 24502 or drop off in DeMoss Hall 1035.
VISIT THE CHAMPION’S WEBSITE AT LIBERTYCHAMPION.COM. CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.